M. Jude Egan

I've been going through a custody/divorce for the last 17 months. I've had a total of four lawyers through out the process, Jude being the fourth. I will go to say this, just because a lawyer passed the bar they aren't all the same, meaning some (stink) and some (rock). I can say whole heartedly, that Jude takes the cake for the best lawyer i've had. So I am going to share my experience from the get go that I've had with Jude. In January, I was trying to get my custody shifted from North Carolina to Santa Barbara county. I wrote Jude explaining my situation one late evening at about a 11PM. Jude responded to me first thing the following morning at 6AM. My experience of dealing with lawyers, is they aren't the fastest with responses, because they have other clients. But Jude was fast, he was efficient, and I could feel through his email he understood the gravity and the pain I've been through out the process, he left me his phone number and told me to call him as soon as I received his email, we started immediately corresponding. I felt for the first time that, I was lucky enough to find a lawyer that finally would go to bat for me, because the first three didn't have any emotions in my case, with Jude, I felt differently, he shared his story so he understood what was at stake! I felt like this was a match made in heaven for me to fight for my boys. In the process of trying to shift venues, my ex-wife sproadically tried to get emergency custody orders on March 17, 2021. Jude and company received this notice after hours, he told me we needed to respond immediately because the lawyer sent this late in bad faith and didn't give us anytime to respond, and the judge could make a decision first thing the following morning. Jude gave me my assignment, and that was to answer the following declaration to the best of my ability, and he would review it and after I was done, he would touch it and put his staple of excellence on it. Ten hours and 3 mins later at 3:07 AM Jude sent me an email with the completion of our declaration. Jude and the help of his co-workers put together a master piece rebuttal against the emergency order to give us a chance. Today is March 19, 2021 and around 5 PM today, Jude shot me a text saying there request for an emergency order was DENIED. I am gonna say this speaking from a glass box, but if you want someone that will fight like hell for you, do it ethically, and literally share your feelings and what is best for you. JUDE EGAN WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU!!! No amount of gratitude I have for this man will ever be understood, but thank you Jude, you are an honorable and straight animal. Thanks Jude and company!! If you have any questions write me at [email protected]

Our legal case was considered virtually unwinnable. We think JUDE took our case because he believed in us, the merits of our case & our desire for justice. JUDE was like a loyal dog on a front porch: listening, looking, taking everything in...waiting for the right moment. When that moment came, he was like a bulldog: intelligent, confident & aggressive. His trial brief was a work of art; it encapsulated all that we had told him and that he had researched with precise, biting language. Jude is a super lawyer: a great listener, courteous & calm, reasonable & honest, meticulous in his preparation of our case. His staff, especially Kristin, was very helpful and supportive. God forbid we need legal help again, but if we do, Jude will be our counsel for life!

Having a divorce finalized during COVID, just wow! Jude and his team, especially Kristen were amazing the entire time. My case had lots of twists and turns and I'm forever thankful and grateful for their diligence and work at such a challenging time personally and globally. Thank you Jude.

To say that family law matters are difficult is an understatement. Sometimes they are downright heart wrenching. No matter what was going on with regards to our custody battle with my wife’s ex, she and I would always come back to center…to our foundation, “we are a team and we will get through this together.” When we first started our legal representation journey in the Santa Maria area, we paid little credence to our lawyer being part of the above-mentioned team. We thought, “Our lawyer just needs to be knowledgeable about family law.” We asked all the wrong questions the first time around and ended up going with a lawyer who was very proud of where he went to school and the degree that hung in his office. Both this lawyer and his office staff were extremely disorganized. His office often took messages and did not return phone calls. Paperwork we sent in was not reviewed or lost. Bottom line, we lost that first hearing because our representation was not familiar with the factual details of our case and came into the courtroom woefully unprepared. My wife and I are young professionals and our thought process was and continues to be simple…we expect to be treated the same way by our lawyer and his/her staff that we would show them if they were to come to our place of business. Specifically from my standpoint, I run an office with approximately 9x the amount of staff in the average law office and would be appalled if my staff failed to return phone calls, failed to answer e-mails in a timely fashion, and submitted subpar products. After firing our first lawyer, we re-entered the representation search with a renewed lease on what we were looking for. We wanted a professional practice that would take the time to learn the facts surrounding our case, would communicate effectively with us (being that we were primarily out of state), and could ultimately be a productive part of our team. We found all of that and more in the Law Offices of M. Jude Egan. Jude is a master of the law who not only has the body of work of a highly qualified lawyer (just look at his published work/degrees), but also has this uncanny ability to empathize with his clients. He made it clear that his practice keeps its caseload smaller so that he can learn the facts surrounding his cases, and thus be a stronger advocate for his clients. Once we started working with his practice, it was like night and day compared to our previous experience. Jude took the time to explain everything to us in detail, go over our plan moving forward, and ALWAYS made time to address my wife’s concerns to resolution. As we began to prepare to return to court, another point of clarity emerged. You cannot have an effective Jude without Kristin…period. Jude’s paralegal is an invaluable part of his team. Kristin is a consummate professional who not only communicates effectively/efficiently, but has an excellent grasp of the law. Once the prep work began, we were able to see first-hand the amount of time and care she puts into every single exhibit, legal document, and e-mail. On the day of the hearing, it became abundantly clear that our legal representation was familiar with the facts surrounding our case, would not allow the opposition to make false/inaccurate statements in a court of law, and deeply cared about the family that he was representing. Jude was methodical, precise, and quite frankly a pleasure to watch, as he systematically pointed out the fallacies in opposing counsel’s argument. His behavior and performance on that day restored our lost faith in family law lawyers. The moral of this story is not that our move away motion was granted on our second attempt. It is that we found a great legal team that cared for us as clients, but more importantly, as people. No matter what life brings us in the future, Jude and Kristin will forever be a part of our team.

Consulted Jude and being a potential out of state clinic, I came with much apprehension. He definitely listened, responsed and explained what he does in a case that I’m approaching. Giving him as much history as I could, he was able to articulate how the court system works there and what could be the best route if we ended up presenting this case in front of the court.